


The Law of Motion

by katsudono



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Mental Instability, Panic Attacks, Post-Canon, Post-Second War with Voldemort, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Post-War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-15
Updated: 2017-10-22
Packaged: 2019-01-17 20:00:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12372978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katsudono/pseuds/katsudono
Summary: After the Second Wizarding War, the balances of the human and the magic world were restored. The wizards won against Voldemort, the Death Eaters were chased down and peace was recovered. Yet, peace was the one thing that didn't find its place in the chaotic minds of the young fighters, the ones who faced death, the ones who went to hell and back.Luna Lovegood is one of them, and the ghosts of the war have come to haunt her, more than any other magical creature she has stumbled upon. Neville Longbottom swears to dedicate his life into becoming an Auror and fulfilling his parents' unfinished story, unaware of the risks he has to take and the sacrifices he has to make once more to achieve his goals.For every action, there is an equal and opposite action. And those two are about to fight back their own chaos with equal force.





	1. The ghost of you

She could hear nothing. But she could see everything. 

The mud smeared across their faces. The blinding lights of curses and hexes being shot around. The blood trickling down their foreheads. The silent screams they released after defeating or being defeated. The castle she grew up to love being in shambles. 

But most importantly, she could nearly see the horror drawn on her face, the pure fear that was forever stamped on it. The fear of fear itself. 

She wanted to scream, yet she couldn't. She wanted to run and help, yet she couldn't. It was as if a binding curse had stilled her to the ground, forcefully making her watch as her friends fell down one by one. The green bolt which was aimed to Fred Weasley, making him drop to the ground with the faded light behind his brown eyes. The nearly-slashed-in-two arm of Hannah, whose screams of pain were worse than a deadman's despair to live. The puddle of blood around the unrecognizable from the hexes body of Collin, whose brown hair had turned to red and his pale face resembled not the one of a human.

The fear of death. Death was all she smelled, death was all she saw. Ashes, ashes, they all burnt. Except from her,  _her_ , whose eyes were forever stained with the blood of the crimes she witnessed. 

Suddenly, she realized she couldn't breathe. She felt an invisible rope being wrapped around her throat, tightening with each moment passing. Tightening and tightening, tears prickling in the corners of her eyes which had widened from the horror they faced. Tightening, but not enough until death had taken everything she cherished away from her. 

**Everything.**

Luna's blue eyes shot open in horror just as she hurled up from her laying position, feeling bile coming up in her throat. With no sense of the space surrounding her, she stood up abruptly and ran to the single room she could spot with the light on. As soon as she arrived, her knees gave up on her and she fell on the floor, clinging on the toilet as if it was her last lifeline. 

The rushed footsteps of Luna in the house had woken up her father, Xenophilius, who ran down the hall worriedly. The usual sight of his daughter emptying her stomach in the toilet returned the sadness in his wrinkled eyes and he knelt besides her, patting softly her back.

"It's okay now, darling, everything is okay," he whispered to her as he rubbed circles on her shaky back. "It's over now, you're safe. Your friends are safe, I am safe. We are all safe."

Luna loosened her grip on the toilet seat and stared down at her legs. Feeling the hot tears streaming down her face, she wrapped her arms around her father just as she broke into a fist of strong sobs. Xenophilius clutched his daughter tightly against him, reassuringly rubbing her blonde head and humming a peaceful and familiar to her tone. 

"Oh, dad . . . They just keep dying and getting hurt and I could do nothing . . .  _nothing_  about it!"

Xenophilius let his daughter cry against his shirt with despair swimming in his eyes, "They're all safe, Luna, I promise. No more deaths, no more wounds or getting hurt. They're safe and most importantly,  _you_  are safe."

Luna held tighter onto her father, her eyes seeming to never stop creating sorrowful tears, "Is it that important now?"

The man couldn't help but tear up, a tiny tear falling from his right eye as he pressed his cheek against his daughter's head.

"Yes, yes, it is."

   ☽ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ☾ 

 Xenophilius was surprised to hear someone knocking on his door and at first, he kept reading the daily edition of The Daily Prophet and passed off the sound as the wind rattling the loose wood steps in the porch. But when the knocking was repeated, more intensively, he stood up and let his newspaper rest on the table. He glanced at his daughter who was watering the plants in the kitchen undisturbed - humming, even - and he made his way towards the door.

"Good morning, sir."

Xenophilius was more surprised to see the famed Harry Potter standing in front of him with another person, quickly reminding him the other time his two friends and him had appeared in front of his house. That time he had turned him in to the Dark Lord and he had risked the future of not only the wizarding, but the human world as well. 

The man pursed his lips at these thoughts but nonetheless opened the door more and let Harry and a quiet ginger girl enter the house. He assumed immediately that they had come for his daughter, thus he motioned to them to follow him and so did they.

The three of them entered the kitchen just as Luna was about to leave and the girl was more than surprised and happy to see her former classmates.

"Harry, Ginny."

Harry cherished her a short smile while Ginny embraced her warmly, a gesture Luna gladly accepted as she hugged her back. When both of them pulled back, the blonde rubbed her hands together and opened her mouth to say something, glancing momentarily at her father.

"I'll- I'll make you some tea," Xenophilius offered, breaking the uneasy silence among them. 

The company agreed as they all nodded affirmatively and Luna led them to the tiny living room where Harry and Ginny propped themselves on the couch and the other girl sat across them on a low pillow-chair. They stared at each other, all wanting to say millions of things, yet having no words to describe what they felt.

"So, Luna," Ginny finally piped up, "how have you been lately?"

"Quite . . . disturbed," she answered, earning questionable glances from the visitors. "My sleeping schedule is turned upside down but I'm managing. How about you two?"

The reassuring smile she cherished them wasn't enough for them to conclude that she was managing her issues that well but inaudibly, the two promised to themselves to ask her about it later.

"I'm coping by helping around the house and Harry has been quite caught up with the Ministry," the ginger girl mused.

Harry sighed tiredly, "There hasn't been a day I wasn't forced to apparate in the Ministry and it has been quite the bother, honestly. But things have to get in place, finally, so I have no other choice but contribute."

"I can see you working at the Ministry, Harry," Luna confessed, making Ginny chuckle softly. "You can handle the organization and you have leadership skills, at least."

Harry made a face, "A job at the Ministry is the last thing I'd choose to do for the rest of my life. I'd rather be a teacher in the Muggle world."

At that moment, Xenophilius entered the living room with three cups of tea, quickly settling them down on the table. All murmured silent 'thank you's and he stood before them, as if contemplating whether to say something or not. Eventually, he departed from the room and left the three of them alone in a comfortable silence.

Luna didn't miss a beat as she sipped her hot tea, its aroma and mild taste warming her up and relieving her pained chest from last night's accident. "So what is the purpose of your visit? I can tell it's more than a quick morning tea party."

Harry and Ginny glanced at each other, silently deciding that Harry would be the one to tell her the much-awaited news.

"Luna, what do you want to do in the future? Your plans, ambitions?"

The girl stared down at her tea cup for a moment before looking back at the male. He hadn't changed a bit, even though the war scars were deeply engraved in his expression and mannerisms. "If I was given a chance, I would like to be a teacher at Hogwarts. A professor for the Care of Magical Creatures, just like Hagrid. That's all I've ever wanted - and for the Quibbler to become famous among the wizards. You know, there is a pretty interesting artic-"

"They are rebuilding the Hogwarts castle, Luna."

Luna stared with surprise at Harry for a moment before a huge smile stretched on her lips and she set down her cup, "Why, that's wonderful news! I didn't believe they would start its reconstruction this soon."

"Well, it's been six months since the end of the war, it was about time if they want to be ready for the next year," Ginny explained, a small smile playing on her lips upon the remembrance of her times at Hogwarts. "Some of us have to take our N.E.W.T.'s, finish our school year . . . And a lot of people have offered to help for the castle's restoration, too."

With that sentence, it was like Luna's future was being played in front of her mere eyes. With a small and - for the first time after a year - hopeful smile, she stretched her hand towards them.

"I'd love to contribute."


	2. Square One

Apparating was difficult to perform, and yet more difficult when one hadn't used it for a long time.

Luna nearly fell down when she appeared in front of the destroyed Hogwarts castle. Apparition always made her feel nauseous and laying her eyes upon the castle in ruins surely didn't help the situation, as she felt more dizzy and out of place and time. The flashbacks had attacked her all at once and she could practically  _feel_  that day at Hogwarts. That damned day, where everyone's lives had changed. The damned day everyone, adults and not, had to stain their hands with bloodstains that would never fade away, as much as they tried to wash them off.

Shaking off these thoughts, she gulped down and looked around. The outside of the school was deserted, which could mean only one thing: everyone was in the interior of the school. Luna took a determined step towards the place which previously held the huge doors of the school but stopped just as abruptly as she had started. Her right hand twitched, the one that always held her wand, and she squinted her eyes just as she looked down, trying to prevent the cruel images from entering her head.

"I knew I heard someone apparate."

Luna snapped her head up, only to be greeted by Ginny who smiled toothily at her. She immediately embraced her friend and buried her face in her shoulder. Ginny squeezed her tightly and they remained like this for a few moments - the Weasley girl knew better than anyone else how cruel the war had been on the students, especially the ones who lost precious persons from their lives. Just like she had lost Fred, the Patil twins had lost Lavender, Harry had lost Sirius and Remus, and many more else. And the sight of death was enough to stigmatize them for the rest of their lives.

"Let's get inside, shall we?"

Luna nodded and the girls walked inside, the blonde one making sure to stay close behind the other. They reached the castle's dining room which was the most intact out of the rest of the rooms, only missing its windows and bricks from small parts of the walls. The huge tables held dust on them from both the debris and the time they were left closed in there without being cleaned. The thing that was more familiar to Luna and brought a warm feeling in her stomach was the way the persons who had gathered for the restoration of the castle were moving around. 

They were chatting freely and held no scars or blood traces on their faces, their clothes were clean of all dust and mud and instead of tears being smudged upon their cheeks, wide smiles were etching them. And that was enough to remind Luna that the war was over and there were no more threats to be worried about. 

"Luna!"

Upon hearing her name, the girl turned her head towards the person who had called her. A tall blonde girl nearly crushed on her and Luna swore to herself that she would have fallen down, if it weren't for those two strong arms supporting her. When the blonde girl pulled back from the other, Luna recognized one of her friends and Dumbledore's Army members, Hannah Abbott.

"Oh hi, Hannah," she said sweetly, glancing at the other tall figure standing besides the girl. "Ernie." The boy waved cheerily at her in acknowledgment and cherished her a tiny smile.

"I didn't expect to see you here," Hannah started. "Actually, I  _did_  expect to see you here, but . . . After the war, not many people would like to come back, and . . . "

Luna grinned, "How could I not? Besides, spending my days closed in the house made me crave for some fresh air."

Hannah nodded excitedly and glanced at the front of the hall where the persons had started to gather. "Let's go and sit there, shall we?"

Luna followed after her friend and they soon sat down at the tables which previously belonged to Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff.  The moment she sat down, she let her eyes wander among the small sea of people who had decided to come to the meeting. Seamus and Dean were sitting across her, whispering to each other like they always did. The well-known Golden Trio was positioned besides the couple together with Ginny - Ron staring off to space as Hermione and Harry chatted about something that seemed to be particularly bothering the wise witch. On the other table sat a couple of Slytherins she managed to recognize, among them being Blaise Zabini and Pansy Parkinson, and her friends from her school years, Hannah Abbott and Ernie Macmillan. Luna closed her eyes for a moment, processing the situation she was in, and her good-old, signature smile was automatically drawn on her face.

Lastly, she glanced at the person who was sitting besides her. "Hi, Neville."

The boy turned his head towards her and his eyes widened momentarily upon falling upon her face, "Oh - Luna? Uh, hi. You came here too?"

"Obviously." Despite his more defined cheekbones and deepening of his voice, Neville's mannerisms never really left him and that caused Luna to feel cozy. "Did you come here to volunteer, too?"

Neville was about to reply but someone cleared their throat loudly - loudly enough for everyone who was in the room to stop what they were doing and look at them.

Professor MacGonagall stood on the half-wrecked podium of the Headmaster and gazed down at her ex-students, who looked as if they were about to hang on to every word she spelled. "Wizards and witches, thank you for coming here today. I think it has been quite the long time since this school functioned properly and after the Ministry's approval and Mr. Potter's help," she stopped for a moment to glance at Harry, who nodded, "we have decided to reconstruct the school. But that does not mean that solely the castle will be repaired. We need to gather all the items that are needed for the school, such as desks - which I believe are mostly intact -, and refill the positions of the professors that will teach here, in Hogwarts.

"Of course, all of you are welcome to help us rebuild the school, or fill in the positions of the professors. I believe I said everything that needed toe be told, thus . . . The ones who would like to take up the offer for teaching in the school can register over at the Slytherin table, while the ones who would like to help the restoration of the school can register at the Gryffindor table. Or what's left of it, anyhow," McGonagall mumbled in the end, stepping off the podium. 

Luna was so engulfed in the professor's speech that she hadn't noticed that people had already started leaving the tables they were sat at and were going towards the registration tables. She stood up too and quietly walked over to the Slytherin table which held merely two other persons, Seamus and Ernie.

"Would like to be a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor," Seamus stated as he talked to Ernie. "Don't know if I'd be accepted, though."

Ernie huffed, "The exams shall be easier. I mean, if they help us pass them since we were students here. If not, I'll try my luck at some other school. I'm not going to miss my chance of teaching Transfiguration."

Luna waited patiently in the line as they started signing up and wondered why Ernie would become a Transfiguration teacher. But then again, Hannah had sent her a letter two months ago, saying that Ernie had managed to pass the Animagi exams and was waiting for the Ministry to register him in their records. She did recall the boy had some sort of infatuation of turning bumblebees into rocks and throwing them at Gryffindors during their school days; some sort of Hufflepuff he was. 

When it was her turn to sign up, she was surprised to see Neville being in charge of the papers. They shared an intense stare before she sat across him.

Neville cleared his throat, "Uh, name and date of birth."

"Luna Lovegood, born in February 13th, 1981."

Neville scribbled it down, "Applying for . . . ?"

"Care of Magical Creatures."

"Sign with your wand here . . . and here," he finally said, pointing at two empty spaces on the paper. 

Luna brought out her wand and shakily signed the paper, almost not being able to complete the second signature. She could feel the well-known bile rising up in her throat and she placed her hand above her chest, squinting her eyes as she tried to breathe. Luna hadn't used her wand ever since the battle and even touching it made her feel the tension she hoped she would have forgotten by now. But this time, she was able to fight off the upcoming panic attack and she opened her eyes, only to see Neville's worried ones staring at her. She glanced down and noticed his hand being wrapped around her right arm while his other was rubbing soothingly her back. 

"D-Did anyone see - "

"No, no one saw anything," he whispered, furrowing his eyebrows together in confusion. "Are you . . . Are you okay now, though?"

Luna nodded her head and slightly pulled back from Neville's hold, "Thank you, Neville, you're kind." She managed to smile slightly, even though it was half-forced and half-grateful. 

Neville knew that the girl wasn't in her best and that pained him more than he showed it. It was her reassuring personality that got him through the torturous year under Severus Snape's legacy, it was her beaten-up face that fueled his determination to fight during the final battle, it was the  _'I love you'_  that lingered in his mouth but was never able to get out that gave him hope for what would come next.

At that moment did Neville and Luna realize that the scars of the war would never leave, but the promising light of a peaceful future could help the pain seize.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you a lot for choosing to read my fan fiction - Neville x Luna is such an underrated ship and I expected it to be one of the canon ones, yet J.K. fooled me again. I hope you'll all enjoy this short story and make sure to shoot it with some kudos and leave some feedback ~


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